Milorganite 36 lb vs. Classic 50 LB ??

[southern-ct-4]

A supply store near me sells the 50 LB bag of Milorganite Classic for $16. That's the equivalent of getting the 36lb bag for $11.52. $11.52 is actually a decent price in the CT area (especially now that it's sold out almost everywhere), though it sometimes goes on sale for $9 or $10 (or if you're lucky, HD will price match for $7.50 to Fleet Farm, though HDs near me are sold out).

In any case, my specific question is; is there any advantage to buying the 50LB bags (especially if it costs a bit more)? It might still have the iron content (is that worth the extra price), etc....

Thanks!

[glenforest]

Until recently, the retail bag was 5-2-0, and the pro classic bag was 6-2-0. Then the P content went up to 4% on both, and now both bags are (or soon will be) labeled 6-4-0. So there used to be an advantage in getting slightly more N in the classic version, but that is or soon will be gone. Labeled iron content is the same. I’m not sure about any other differences, for example, if prill size is any different, but I doubt you would notice or care if it were. I get the pro bags for about $13.80, so the price is still better for me if I buy the pro bags vs. the retail.

[Green]

SiteOne, I assume, because that's how much I paid from them.

Anyway, when I crunched the numbers and compared it on a per-N and per-P basis to the 5-4-0 and 6-4-0 in retail stores for $14, the Pro bags ended up being a better deal for the Nitrogen, while the retail bags were a slightly better deal for Phosphorus. Averaging N and P, it was almost a wash, almost even. It used to be a better deal back when the Pro bags had definitely higher N content. As far as Iron, just check the bags to see. Most of them remaining in stores now are 2.5%.

Btw, apparently all Milorganite is going to be 6-4-0 in the future, pro as well as retail. The prills have also gotten slightly less uniform and maybe larger over the past few years.

[seiyafan]

Iron used to be 4% in the older formula, now it's changed to 2.5% in the 6-4-0 formula.

[Green]

Iron used to be 4% in the older formula, now it's changed to 2.5% in the 6-4-0 formula.

The 5-4-0 and some of the 6-2-0 are also 2.5% Iron.

[southern-ct-4]

Thanks all. So it sounds like aside from tweaks/differences in the formula, there's no major reason to buy classic vs. regular (just go with whatever is cheapest/available).

[Green]

Thanks all. So it sounds like aside from tweaks/differences in the formula, there's no major reason to buy classic vs. regular (just go with whatever is cheapest/available).

Pretty much. Whoever has what you need.

[seiyafan]

Thanks